Category: FAQ

Our attention has been drawn to a misleading publication on www.foreignaffairs.co.nz alleging the supply of Jet A1 to the military in Myanmar by Sahara Energy International Pte. Ltd (SIL).

The said article, which indicated that its submissions were purportedly sourced from Amnesty International is utterly unfounded and false.Please see link below to the article with headline: MIL-OSI Submissions: Myanmar: ‘Reckless’ shipments of jet fuel continue as air strikes multiply – Amnesty International

https://foreignaffairs.co.nz/2024/07/08/mil-osi-submissions-myanmar-reckless-shipments-of-jet-fuel-continue-as-air-strikes-multiply-amnesty-international/#

Sahara Energy would like to state for the record that we have at no time, directly or indirectly supplied Jet A1 to the military in Myanmar as falsely claimed in the story. Contrary to claims of “new deliveries” of Jet A1 by Sahara Energy to Myanmar in the article, the last supply of Jet A1 to Myanmar by SIL was in August 2022.
The last three supplies by SIL were made directly to Trafigura’s local trading arm in Myanmar, namely NEPAS- National Energy PUMA Aviation Services Ltd.

 Since then,  SIL made a business decision after the last delivery made in August 2022 to stop further deliveries of Jet A1 and all Petroleum Products into Myanmar following official sanctions against the Government of Myanmar.

We affirm that SIL has not had any direct or indirect dealings with the Civil Aviation, Military authorities, or any Trading Company (after the last delivery in Aug 2022) in Myanmar.

In addition, at no point in time in the last 6 years did SIL Charter the HUITONG78 vessel to deliver Jet A1 or any other petroleum product either directly or indirectly into Myanmar as incorrectly stated in the article.

We find it disingenuous and libellous that the authors of the said article are leaning on the reputation of Amnesty International to propagate their bogus claims. However, even if the purported claims were sourced from Amnesty International, a thorough investigation (which is the hallmark of credible media organisations) would have revealed the facts of the matter. The publication is at best, a fabrication that runs contrary to the ideals of good journalism.

Sahara hereby advises the public, our stakeholders, and partners to disregard these false reports and their variants which are being rehashed and syndicated in various news portals.

Sahara’s operations and processes are driven by business integrity and good governance as advocated by the World Economic Forum.

We remain committed to transparency, a critical value proposition that propels the success of the Sahara Brand as we continue to bring energy to life responsibly.

Our attention has been drawn to a misleading media report alleging payment of bribes of over 300 million USD by Sahara Energy International in respect of the acquisition of Oil Mining Licence (OML11).

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Our attention has been drawn to several misleading media reports and apparently sponsored false commentary on the ongoing contract between Sahara Energy and Société Nationale de Petroles (SONAP) for the supply of petroleum products to the Republic of Guinea.

Please find some links below to the said publications:

https://sunupetrole.com/blog/2024/01/17/dans-lombre-de-doumbouya-le-deal-petrolier-avec-sahara-group-au-coeur-dune-lutte-des-clans/

https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1526374/economie-entreprises/dans-lombre-de-doumbouya-le-deal-petrolier-avec-sahara-group-au-coeur-dune-lutte-des-clans/

https://africacenter.org/spotlight/stagnant-transition-guinea/

Sahara Energy would like to state for the record that these reports are a rehash of previously published articles on the subject which have been making the rounds since Q4 2023.
The allegations cited in the articles are unsubstantiated and concocted in a manner that shows a total lack of journalistic acumen and veracity.

We also state for the record that the products supply referred to in the articles, were supplied subsequent to an open tender conducted by SONAP in which Sahara emerged as the preferred supplier based on the results of the tender.

The tender was necessitated in response to market disruptions occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine war.

We also note the following important series of events that surrounded the bidding process as they help to put the events into the right context.

• SONAP organized the Tender originally on the 25th of February 2022, the companies who participated in the tender were Sahara Energy, Addax and Mocho Energy. Following the transparent and competitive bidding process, Sahara Energy emerged as the winner and received a notification of award on the 4th March 2022

Consequently, the importation contract was signed on the 11th March 2022

• Following the Russia-Ukraine War induced disruptions in-excess of what was predicted, an ad-hoc meeting was convened to discuss the impact of the war on supply of products to Guinea.
• The meeting had major local distributors and marketing companies in attendance
• It is important to note that at this time, even the traders managing the existing contracts had declared a force majeure due to the supply and pricing disruptions as a result of the war
• This force majeure declaration led to SONAP purchasing spot cargoes at prices marginally higher than the tender price to ensure there were no product shortages in the country
• Demond, Total, Vitol and Sahara Energy all participated in the spot purchase arrangements
• In response to the further heightened geo-political tension generated by the war as it progressed and the UN started considering sanctions, SONAP approved further increase in prices in supply contracts as the prices agreed to in the contracts was no longer realistic given the volatility in the market.
• This was done to ensure continued access to products in the country
• Following the above, the first supply price amendment was approved for 6 months by SONAP on 8 April, 2022
• On the 20th September 2022 the second amendment was approved for a further 6 month period
• On the 20th April 2023 a the third amendment was approved for a further 1 month period.
• One month later, the fourth amendment was signed with the price negotiated downwards to $90 per tonne.
• This price was below the original awarded tender price before the force majeure was declared due to market conditions.
• This reduced was possible due to the global commodity market supply and prices stabilizing after the first year of the war as the market adjusted to the effective loss of volumes that had previously originated in Russia and refineries across the world were able to make the necessary adjustments to take up the fall in supply.
• These interim spot awards that were done to avoid stock outs in the country were supplied by a multitude of traders including but not limited to Demond, Total, Vitol and Sahara Energy

The above clearly shows the transparent trajectory of the product supply transactions, and how at every turn, the professional team at SONAP were able to react to the market dynamics with all stakeholders working in the best interest of the good people of Guinea ensuring there were no stock outs of products.

The online publications referenced above also claimed that the DG of SONAP, Amadou Doumbouya was allegedly able to purchase properties in the US at around the same time of the tender award.

We are unable to respond to this as we have no knowledge of the personal circumstances of Mr. Doumbouya or indeed the veracity of the insinuations of the allegations in the article which appear to be pure speculation and can only unfortunately be described as baseless reckless insinuations.

The Sahara Group has built a formidable global brand over the past 27 years, Sahara Energy is delighted to be a stakeholder in the oil and gas sector in Guinea since 2017.

Over this period, our focus has been an unwavering desire to ‘Bring Energy To The Lives’ of the good people Guinea responsibly through transparent, professional, and credible energy solutions.We will continue to deliver on this privilege to serve, working alongside SONAP in conjunction with the regulatory agencies and stakeholders in the sector.

We urge all our partners and stakeholders to disregard these false reports in their entirety.

Our attention has been drawn to media reports indicating a bench warrant issued against Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Mr. Tonye Cole and others, for their alleged failure to appear in court in respect of a criminal charge filed by the Rivers State Government (“RSG”) regarding misappropriation of funds during the tenure of former Governor Amaechi from 2007 to 2015.

Please see below links to some of such past publications regarding the said criminal charges:

$50m fraud: Rivers State begins prosecution of Amaechi, slam 9 count charge against him, Cole, others – The Street Journal.

 

https://sundiatapost.com/rivers-state-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole-over-alleged-theft-of-53-1m/

https://barristerng.com/rivers-govt-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole/

https://nigerianbulletin.com/threads/rivers-state-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole-over-alleged-theft-of-53-1m-the-nation.469454/

 

Again, we affirm for the record that the allegations leading to the said criminal charges and reports are utterly false and a rehash of previously syndicated stories which remain unsubstantiated.

We note from the reports that the allegations in the purported suit are similar to previous baseless and politically motivated assertions following the strained relationship between two previous governors of Rivers State (including the immediate past governor), which dates back to the time of the alleged sale of Rivers State asset.

We recall that the RSG was reported to have withdrawn a previous suit on the issue. Please see links below:

 

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/10/rivers-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-apc-gov-candidate-cole/amp/?utm_medium=break.ma&utm_source=break.ma

https://leadership.ng/assets-sale-rivers-govt-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-cole-2/

https://thenationonlineng.net/rivers-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-cole-others/

 

Following the ruling of His Lordship Hon. Justice. Nwogu of the Rivers State High Court, Port Harcourt on 17th of May 2023, as well the arrest warrant issued by the same court, an appeal was instituted at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The appeal came up on the 20th of June 2023 for ruling and a decision was given in favour of the appellants. In summary, the Court of Appeal set aside the ruling of the Rivers State High Court thereby quashing the arrest warrant earlier issued. The Court of Appeal also set aside the entire proceedings conducted on 17^th May, 2023.

Please see the link to the publication affirming our position. https://www.channelstv.com/2023/06/20/appeal-court-sets-aside-warrant-of-arrest-against-amaechi-others/

The link to the judgement can be accessed here.

 

The above reinforces our position and previous clarifications that the allegations leading to the aforestated criminal charge are patently false and an apparent political spectacle that should be disregarded.

Please see links below for previous statements made by Sahara on the issue.

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/05/28/sahara-group-clarifies-misleading-media-reports-on-rivers-state-power-assets/

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/06/20/update-on-misleading-media-reports-on-rivers-state-power-assets/

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/10/17/rivers-state-power-assets/

Sahara Group reiterates its commitment to integrity, corporate governance, and transparency in our operations. These values continue to drive the success of the Sahara Brand for over 25 years in keeping with global best practices and bringing energy to life responsibly.

Sahara Group’s operations and processes are driven by business integrity and good governance as advocated by the World Economic Forum.

We remain committed to transparency, a critical value proposition that propels the success of the Sahara Brand as we continue to bring energy to life responsibly.

Our attention has been drawn to a misleading and unfounded article published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) alleging the involvement of Sahara Energy in questionable transactions in South Sudan.

Please see link below:

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – OCCRP

Sahara Group and Sahara Energy would like to state for the record that the article is utterly false and fabricated as Sahara Energy has never been involved with any of the mentioned companies, including but not limited to Chiang Wei Ltd, BB Energy, and Glencore in South Sudan.

We further affirm that we neither have any business relationship nor association with any of these entities.

We also unequivocally state that we have never paid any facilitation or arrangement fees to any individual or organisation for enabling prepayment agreements as described in the article.

This allegation in completely baseless and at variance with our unwavering dedication to the ideals of transparency and integrity in business as evidenced by our collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).

Sahara Energy remains active on the African continent where it commenced business operations in 1996 and expanded its Eastern African footprint to the Republic South Sudan in 2018.

Sahara continues to trade with South Sudan under the mandate of the Ministry of Petroleum and Ministry of Finance & Planning. At the request of the Ministry, Sahara has offered various customary payment instruments including a credit facility for Crude Oil back stopped by a sovereign guarantee from the Bank of South Sudan.

Sahara undertakes its business in South Sudan transparently and participated in full cooperation/compliance of an inquiry by the United Nations Panel of Experts appointed to monitor the extraction and trade of the Government of South in 2018 and 2020.

Sahara Energy was not found wanting in any aspect of its operations in South Sudan by the UN instituted panel of inquiry.

For over 26 years, Sahara has consistently operated as a foremost energy conglomerate committed to bringing energy to life responsibly.. We are proud of what we have achieved and continue to work with regional and global institutions to advance the frontiers of access to energy and sustainable development in Africa.

Our attention has been drawn to media reports indicating that the Rivers State Government (“RSG”) has purportedly filed “new” criminal charges against a former Governor of the state, Mr.

Rotimi Amaechi, Mr. Tonye Cole and others including Sahara, in respect of alleged illicit financial transactions regarding the sale of some of the State’s assets.

Please see links below:

https://sundiatapost.com/rivers-state-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole-over-allegedtheft-of-53-1m/

https://barristerng.com/rivers-govt-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole/

https://nigerianbulletin.com/threads/rivers-state-initiates-criminal-trial-of-amaechi-and-cole-overalleged-theft-of-53-1m-the-nation.469454/

Sahara Group would like to state for the record that these reports are utterly false and a rehash of previously syndicated stories which remain unsubstantiated.

We note from the reports that the allegations in the purported new suit are similar to previous baseless and politically motivated assertions following the strained relationship between the previous and incumbent governors of Rivers State, which dates back to the time of the sale of the indicated Rivers State asset.

In fact, we recall that only recently, the Rivers State Government was reported to have withdrawn a previous suit on the issue. Please see links below:

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/10/rivers-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-apcgov-candidate-cole/amp/?utm_medium=break.ma&utm_source=break.ma

https://leadership.ng/assets-sale-rivers-govt-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-cole-2/

https://thenationonlineng.net/rivers-withdraws-criminal-charges-against-amaechi-cole-others/

The above reinforces our position and previous clarifications that the allegations are patently false and an apparent political spectacle that should be disregarded.

Please see links below for previous statements made by Sahara on the issue.

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/05/28/sahara-group-clarifies-misleading-media-reports-onrivers-state-power-assets/

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/06/20/update-on-misleading-media-reports-on-rivers-statepower-assets/

https://www.sahara-group.com/2022/10/17/rivers-state-power-assets/

Sahara Group reiterates its commitment to integrity, corporate governance, and transparency in our operations. These values continue to drive the success of the Sahara Brand for over 25 years in keeping with global best practices and bringing energy to life responsibly. Sahara Group’s operations and processes are driven by business integrity and good governance as advocated by the World Economic Forum. We remain committed to transparency, a critical value proposition that propels the success of the Sahara Brand as we continue to bring energy to life responsibly.

As a leading multinational energy and infrastructure conglomerate, it is in our DNA to always conduct our businesses in an honest, ethical, and lawful manner.

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Sahara Group remains committed to protecting its hard-earned reputation as we continue to lead the charge towards bringing energy to life responsibly.

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